Frank Alexander (actor)

Frank Alexander (May 25, 1879 – September 8, 1937) was an American silent film comedian and actor.

Frank Alexander
Syd Chaplin, Frank Alexander, and Joy Lewis in A Lover's Lost Control (1915)
Born(1879-05-25)May 25, 1879
Olympia, Washington
DiedSeptember 8, 1937(1937-09-08) (aged 58)
Los Angeles, California
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
Other namesTiny Alexander
Fatty Alexander
Years active1915-1933

Biography

Alexander, who was morbidly obese (350 pounds), was best known for playing villains in the films of Larry Semon, who are often the father of Semon's love interest. He is best known to contemporary audiences for portraying a villainous interpretation of Uncle Henry, eventually proclaimed "Prince of Whales" upon reaching the Emerald City in Semon's Wizard of Oz. He was also part of the comedy team called "A Ton Of Fun" with two other large actors, Kewpie Ross and Hilliard Karr.

Richard M. Roberts's article in Classic Images listed the top ten ingredients of a Larry Semon film, which began with these four:

  1. Larry Semon
  2. A heroine (usually Larry's current girlfriend or wife)
  3. A fat guy (usually Oliver Hardy, to play the villain)
  4. A really fat guy (usually Frank Alexander, to play Larry's current girlfriend's father)

He was proclaimed at the time as one of the three fattest actors ever to appear on the screen, with Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle as one of the others.

Filmography


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